Worst Movies of 2010

I was originally going to do a Top 10 best and worst of 2010, but the truth is, I didn't see enough movies in 2010 to do a fair "Top 10 Worst Of" list. (I'll have a "Best Of" list soon, just need to see a couple more movies before I post it.) 2010 had more than its share of trash, but a lot of the movies would truly be the worst of the year, I didn't see. (Again... don't have time to see them all, but I'm working on that.) So I'm going to do this, my Top 5 worst movies plus a few that might be contenders while being a bit too soon to label them as the "worst." Also just so everyone knows, the reason some infamous duds like The Bounty Hunter, The Spy Next Door, or Twilight: Eclipse (ugh!!!) aren't on this list, its because I haven't seen them yet. If I do eventually have the stomach to watch them, I might write a review.

My Top 5 Worst Movies of 2010

5. Alice In Wonderland
Sure, the movie looks great, but the visuals do nothing more than to serve as a reminder of what could have been. Instead, we get one of the worst directorial efforts of Tim Burton's career. Save for a semi-enjoyable performance by Helena Bonham Carter, every actor comes off as lethargic or uncomfortable. Even Johnny Depp looks lost! Who could blame him though, when you're acting in one of the most laughably bad re-imaginings of a classic story. Gaping plot holes, flat characters, and an absurd re-imagining of the classic Wonderland story killed any potential this movie may have had.

4. The Last Airbender
Hey everyone, lets laugh at M. Night Shyamalan! Why not? The guy hasn't made a good movie since Signs... and that was almost 10 years ago. I haven't seen a full episode of the cartoon its based on, but seeing a few clips, not to mention support from a large fan-base, I can assume that the show is miles better than this piece of trash. Some passable effects can't salvage a movie with horrendous writing and laughable performances. Plus, the white washing of the show's mostly-Asian cast isn't giving it any credence either. Honestly M. Night? What happened to you???

3. Cop Out
It pains me to put this film on here, since I am generally a huge fan of Kevin Smith. Worse yet, I have been sticking up for the guy when some of his recent films haven't been up to his usual standards. So when Cop Out turned out to be such a colossal failure, I looked like the idiot. The Smith-directed (but not written) action-comedy, Cop Out, is neither funny nor exciting. Bruce Willis phones in an incredibly bland performance, while Tracy Morgan goes waaaaaaaay over the top with one of the most painfully annoying comedic shticks I've ever seen. Throw in some been-there-done-that action cliches, and you've got a failure on many levels. I hope this is nothing more than just a bump in the road for the usually enjoyable Kevin Smith.

2. Jonah Hex
Rumor has it that the film adaptation of the DC Comic Jonah Hex was an insanely troubled production. After watching the movie... I can see that. Josh Brolin makes a solid effort but unfortunately gets pulled down in this train wreck of a movie. An asinine script, sloppy editing, poor direction, stale acting, and no respect for the subject matter are only a few of Jonah Hex's problems. If I were to list all of the film's issues... well maybe I'll save that for a full review. Bottom line... don't see it.

1. A Nightmare On Elm Street
- Ugh! Sure, take one of my favorite movies and remake it into 90 minutes of boring, bland, and uninventive horror tripe. This movie did something I had originally thought was impossible... make a boring Elm Street movie. It was derivative, predictable, bland, stupid, and so poorly cast. Although, like Jonah Hex, this movie is slightly bolstered by one good performance... Jackie Earl Haley as the new Freddy. He rocks, no doubt about that, but the rest of this movie can go the way of Freddy Krueger and die in a fire.

Not Good... but not quite "Worst Of" bad...

These movies weren't necessarily "Worst of 2010" bad (probably not, maybe when I see more of 2010's tripe, I can reassess their worth) but either they failed to live up to their promise or were just totally mediocre.

Devil
Alright, this movie wasn't as horrible as I expected nor was it the worst of the year. I even gave it 2.5 stars when I wrote a review for it. I probably was being a bit generous when I wrote that review, mainly because I went it with low low low expectations. Nonetheless, I'm not in the habit of changing my scores, and I don't intend to start. After all, it had some passable scares and some good camerawork. Unfortunately, it also had the second most laughable script this year (2nd only to Alice in Wonderland). When you add in stupid characters, laughable lines ("Jelly side up!"), and a predictable outcome, you get a bad movie. Although it does become something of a so-bad-its-good movie, so its at least more entertaining than some of the films released this year. Already its starting to build a cult following... nice!

The Expendables
Again, not a God-Awful movie like some of the others, but its on the list for not living up to its potential. I dug the idea of an 80s style action movie starring some of the genre's most revered stars. Aside from a cool opening and decent finale, it failed to live up to the nostalgic premise. The camera was shaking all over the place, the villains were flat, and the great cast wasn't used to their full potential. Might be worth a rental, but nothing more than that.

Hereafter
Another one that's not horrible, but fails to live up to its promising concept. Actually, there's one other reason I'm putting it here... BECAUSE HEREAFTER'S CRAPPY CGI WAS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR WHILE TRON LEGACY WAS NOT!!! Okay, well that aside, Hereafter just wasn't that good. Matt Damon does his usual good job, and the whole concept with three separate characters with intertwining afterlife-themed storylines was intriguing. Unfortunately, the story rambles on until you realize it had nothing particularly poignant to say about the subject. Also, Clint Eastwood still can't direct young actors, Matt Damon's storyline was considerably more interesting than the other two, and yes... the special effects were either bland, derivative, or fake-looking. Its too bad, because this could have been a really good movie.

So yeah, consider these my bottom films of 2010. Don't bother watching them!